Winners!!!
We want to say thank you to our judges, without whom this competition could not have been possible, and to Woburn Safari Park, who generously donated the prizes for our winners. Please scroll down to see the winner, runners up and highly commended young writers from this year's competition!
Writing Competition Winners 2022 - 2023!
1st place: Jasmine Wales
Story Starter 2: I huddle in my armchair next to my bedroom window, watching. Will he come tonight? All is silent under the stars. I wait and wait and wait. Crash a clutter as the dustbin at the bottom of the garden topples on to the path. I creep downstairs, throwing on an old coat over my P’J’s and squelching my feet into dad’s old wellingtons. Opening the backdoor, I hurry over the wet grass and kneel in front of the bin and peep inside. A pair of frightened eyes stare back…..
I realise… in the bin is the tiny hedgehog. He came at last! He curls into a ball.
“Don’t be scared…” I whisper into the windy, chill night. I’m partly surprised that he’s not hibernating!
Poor thing, must be very hungry. I run inside and open a tin of Fluffball’s chicken cat food and grab Mum’s gardening gloves; hedgehogs are so spiky!
Setting the food onto the pavement, I see my nocturnal visitor sniffing the air. He must like the stink of cat food! I gently lift him out of the bin.
“I’ve got something much better for you to eat than rotten scraps,”I say softly. I’ve never seen him this close up before! He wolfs up the cat food, seeming to have forgotten my presence.
For years I’ve loved hedgehogs, but I’ve never seen one so emancipated, this time of year! I walk slowly, as not to scare him, to the shed. I empty Dad’s toolbox into a bucket, and fill the box with leaves and bedding. When I see him again, he’s shivering! I place the hedgehog into the box, and the box into the back room. I’m giving him a place to stay this winter; recently the local wildlife charity talked about helping underweight hedgehogs in winter. As I peer into the box at the hedgehog, surprisingly calm, I’m sure I’ve done the right thing. I wonder what it would be like to run a hedgehog hospital, to help so many more animals in need.
2nd place: Clara Hutchinson
Story Starter 2: I huddle in my armchair next to my bedroom window, watching. Will he come tonight? All is silent under the stars. I wait and wait and wait. Crash a clutter as the dustbin at the bottom of the garden topples on to the path. I creep downstairs, throwing on an old coat over my P’J’s and squelching my feet into dad’s old wellingtons. Opening the backdoor, I hurry over the wet grass and kneel in front of the bin and peep inside. A pair of frightened eyes stare back…..
A small brown squirrel looks deep into my eyes. It looks frightened and lost, so I carefully pick it up and wrap it up in my coat. I creep up the stairs cautiously avoiding all the creaky floorboards and leap into my room shutting the door quietly. I aggressively open my draws and pull out a green hoodie. I fold it in half and place the squirrel on top. I bend down and drag a small shoebox from under my bed and gently carry the frightened squirrel to the box where I make a cute, cosy bed. After a few minutes of gazing at the squirrel I realise it needs a name. I search the doors in brain looking for the perfect name. “I have it!” I whisper. I will call you Bea. Bea seemed to like this name as she looked very satisfied. She then closed her eyes and fell asleep. No one will ever know how excited I was on that very special night. I felt my heart pounding for Bea, I knew from that moment forth that me and Bea would be together forever. I woke up the next day to find Bea sitting beside me. “OMG I haven't fed Bea”. I hurriedly grab my key and open a small box hidden in the corner of my room. I retrieve a single nut and feed it to Bea. She inhales it in one gulp and looks at me very displeased. I laugh and feed her some more.
3rd place: Alexander Berry
Story Starter 2: I huddle in my armchair next to my bedroom window, watching. Will he come tonight? All is silent under the stars. I wait and wait and wait. Crash a clutter as the dustbin at the bottom of the garden topples on to the path. I creep downstairs, throwing on an old coat over my P’J’s and squelching my feet into dad’s old wellingtons. Opening the backdoor, I hurry over the wet grass and kneel in front of the bin and peep inside. A pair of frightened eyes stare back…..
I slowly back up, just a meter or so, first enough to- crash! I slam the lid down as hard as I can making sure not to let it out. finally, this could be it, after all these years I think I have done it. Securing the lid with some bungee cord from the floor, I slowly set the dustbin upright; careful not to anger the creature inside. Inch by inch I move the bin towards the cage. 3 meters two-meters one meter. I enter the cage hitting the light as I go, dragging the bin behind me. Finally, I open the lid (slowly as not to startle the animal). It creeps towards me, the dustbin concealing it. As the light hits each feather- so perfect and golden brown-I become more hopeful, begging for it to be what I've been looking for. My eyes transfixed on its. Yes, at last, I've got it, the last dodo on earth. I did it, after all these years, they called me crazy, they called me mad. She may have taken my money, the house, all of it, but she never got my spirit. Just me and my dad's old stuff. The thought of him makes me tear up, wishing he were here. He would have believed me; I just know it. This was for him. Now me and this dodo would stay together, I couldn’t bring it back, they’d kill it. So, for now (at least) we were trapped away together forever.
Runners up
As we received an abundance of amazing submissions, we wanted to share a few of the writers that stood out for the judges. Well done!
Emma Carlin
Alma Tedder
Syeed Serhat Zengin
Highly Commended:
Darcey Billyeald
Muznah Azeemuddin
Evie Snusher-Nash